Urticaria is the medical term for hives.  Hives are an outbreak of swollen, red bumps or plaques that appear suddenly on the skin. 

Hives can occur due to an allergic reaction or they can occur for reasons unknown.  Generally, hives will cause itching, but they may also burn or sting a person.  Hives can appear anywhere on the body.  Even the lips, tongue, ears and throat can be affected by hives. 

Where the hives occur usually has something to do with an allergic reaction, but when they occur for unknown reasons, they can occur anywhere.  In the following article, we will review more important information about hives. 

Hives can come in various sizes and last for a varied amount of time.  Some hives may be as large as plates and some may be as small as the ball point on a pen. 

Hives may even join with one another to form a larger hive (wheel).  Hives that join together like this are known as plaques .  Hives can last anywhere from an hour to a couple of  days before they disappear completely. 

Hives, or urticaria, can be compared to angioedema.  However, angioedema swelling occurs below the surface of the skin whereas hives occur on the surface of the skin.  Both of these conditions can be caused for unknown reasons. 

In rare cases, both of these conditions can lead to the swelling of the tongue and throat.  Of course, this is where the condition becomes serious and life threatening.  If hives or angioedema cause the tongue or throat to swell, a person must seek help immediately.
  
Hive and angioedema will form in response to a person's body releasing histamine, which causes blood vessels to swell.  Blood plasma will even leak out of the blood vessels in the skin.  Histamine is actually released from specialized cells around the skin's blood vessels. 

Allergic reactions normally cause histamine to be released by the body.  However, hives and angioedema can be caused for reasons unknown.  There several types of hives.  Acute urticaria are hives that will last less than six weeks.  These hives are usually caused by foods or insect bites.

Chronic urticaria are hives lasting longer than six weeks.  These hives are usually the hardest to diagnose.  There is also physical urticaria, which are hives caused by direct stimulation of the skin.  

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by Kate Andrews - 23/8/09

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